Austwell-Tivoli students score high on STAAR, work still needed

Austwell-Tivoli school district has an advantage when it comes to standardized testing - it's smaller for more one-on-one teaching.

The district did well in several subjects in the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam, and Superintendent Antonio Aguirre Jr. is proud.

"We did better than the state average in several areas, but there is still lot of work to be done," Aguirre said in an email.

Students in the school district seemed to struggle with the English I writing and English II reading and writing subjects, with an all-student passing rate less than 50 percent.

This area appears to be the hardest for students across the state, with a state average passing rate of 48 percent.

With fewer than 20 students taking the exams, it's difficult to keep the all-student score high because each score has more impact on the overall score. Still, Aguirre said a smaller student population definitely helps.

"Though we are small, our teachers really work hard from the first day of the year in getting our students ready to be successful," he said.